Kagoma MP loses seat over bribery

The Court of  Appeal has nullified the election of Kagoma County MP Moses Walyomu Muwanika and ordered the Electoral Commission to conduct fresh elections.

Justices  Fredrick Engonda-Ntende,  Paul Mugamba and Alfonse Owiny-Dollo overturned an earlier decision of Jinja High Court that had rejected the  evidence of voter bribery against Walyomu .

Walyomu’s political rival Alex Brandon Kintu who was also a candidate in the Kagoma county MP race, appealed after his election petition was dismissed by Justice Godfrey Namundi for lack of evidence.

The Court of Appeal has however ruled that Kintu  brought satisfactory evidence that Walyomu on January 3, 2016 bribed a community of voters with sh500,000 through the leaders of Mawoito Mosque in Jinja.

Court also  found out that there was intimidation of witnesses with arrest and prosecution by MP Walyomu if they had proceeded to give their testimonies  of bribery against him.

The judges also directed the Registrar of the Court to serve a copy of this judgement to the Law council to have Walyomu’s lawyers  Ambrose Tebyasa and Evans Ochieng disciplined for professional misconduct.

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editor@independent.co.ug